Puppy Love
by scullcandy
Summary: Sadie visits the Land of the Dead for the night. Tensions escalate and Sadie and Anubis are forced to confront their feelings for one another. Additional chapters to come.
1. Chapter 1

**I'M BAAAAACK! OH KIDDIES, DO I HAVE PLANS FOR THIS.**

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I leaned against the pillar, thoroughly bored as I watched a defendant stammer for his soul. He was obviously guilty, anyone could see it. He was a greasy little man, maybe 5', and round as a barrel. He had been drunk when he died, resulting in his eyes appearing to be watery, even when he wasn't crying. Which, as I was finding out, he did _a lot._ Though he was a ghost, and therefore transparent, he seemed to turn a sickly shade of green when he caught my eyes, the crocodile tears flowing down his fleshy face. I glowered at him, not bothering to hide my disdain.

"I swear, I n-never kill-killed her-" he tried to plead at me.

"Enough," Osiris said firmly, holding his blue hand up. The hall went quiet and the greaseball turned his attention back on Osiris, who looked less than amused.

"M-my lord," the little man started again, sweat dotting his forehead.

Osiris shook his head, impartial to the man's fear. "Anubis, weigh his heart."

Finally.

I stepped forward, the man's heart appeared in my hands. As I walked towards the scales, a loud crash echoed from behind the stone doors of the temple. Everyone in the court jumped from surprise.

The crash was followed by yells from the guards, growls from a herd of jackals and the shrill voice of an angry british girl.

Before anyone could react, the door burst open and a blur of a girl ran by, closely followed by at least twenty undead guards and five murderous jackals.

Sadie darted to her dad, who looked shocked to say the least. The guards skidded to a halt, unwilling to throw their spears that close to Osiris. My jackals, however, had no such qualms, and all of them rushed at her, mouths foaming and eyes glowing, while Sadie was trapped with her back against the throne.

Sadie stifled a shriek and raised her hands in defense.

Time seemed to slow to a near stop. I dropped the heart and leapt towards her, changing mid-air into an enormous jackal, landing between Sadie and the pack, a horse-sized barrier between them and her. Anger coursed through my veins and I snarled, gnashing my fangs at my minions

Time whirled and my jackals seemed to hit an invisible brick wall as soon as they saw me. They all dropped to their sides, belly up, a sign of submission, in an instant. They whimpered meekly and the guards dropped their spears. All eyes from around the court seemed to be looking at me in various degrees of fear.

"Anubis," Sadie whispered, her voice shaking. "You've set the floor on fire."

I looked down in surprise. At my paws, blue fire seemed to be leeching, flowing through the cracks on the floor like water. The greaseman was hoping from foot to foot, trying to avoid being burned. The guards, unable to feel pain, were slowly having their feet melted into their shoes. The smell, to say the least, was horrendous.

I shifted back to a human form and summoned the fires back. At once, the floor returned to normal, if not smoking slightly. The jackals in front of me were still on their side.

"Get up," I grumbled, avoiding the eye contact of everyone. I nudged the leader of the pack with the toe of my boot. "Go put everyone back at their posts. None of you get dinner. Shame on you all for attacking Osiris's daughter," I looked at them all, meeting their glowing eyes. They were intelligent and they knew they'd done something wrong.

The jackals got up, all with their noses to the ground, looking like I'd just whipped them. This was the first time in centuries they'd ever been in trouble, and definitely the first time their god had delivered punishment, even if it was just a withdrawal of a meal.

I was about to go pick up the heart I dropped when I felt a sharp jab at my back.

"Why are your jackals so bloody mean?" Sadie exclaimed sharply. If I hadn't been used to her voice, I might've flinched.

"Did you just punch me?"

"Yes." She crossed her arms and tapped her shoe, looking at me as if I was the one in trouble. For a moment I was caught off guard at how blue her eyes were. I had the sudden, irrational urge to kiss her again, despite how angry she looked and how much trouble I had been in the last time.

" _Anubis_."

Realizing I hadn't answered, I shoved aside my urges. "What?"

She glowered at me, her cheeks turning red. Even though she was angry it was really very cute-

"Why do your jackals keep trying to eat me everytime I come over? Everytime I come over, your guard dogs just about take my hands off!"

"They're supposed to keep intruders out," I stepped forward and spread my hands. "You are an intruder."

Sadie's face went bright red with anger, even her nose. She looked like she was going to rip my arm off and beat me with it and yet I still found her adorable. Behind her, a fire blazed up towards the ceiling, feeding off her anger.

"Children," Osiris cleared his throat. The fire died back down behind Sadie and I looked behind me. There were scorch marks on the pillars from where the fire had been feeding off _my_ energies. I felt my ears turn pink. It wasn't like me to lose control of my emotions.

"I think you two need to be separated before you burn down the temple," Osiris said pointedly, gesturing for me to leave. I didn't bother arguing, slinking back off into the darkness, making myself invisible so I could still hear.

Osiris dismissed court, and the greaseball of a soul was led stammering, back into a holding cell. Officials slowly made their way back to their rooms, or to conduct business in other areas of the halls. When they were all gone, Osiris faded into his host's form, Julius Kane.

"Dad!" Sadie ran and jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Julius smiled and the sternness of court faded from his face. He hugged her back, and held her there for a few minutes.

 _She looks so happy,_ I thought to myself, lingering invisible in the corner. _She looks beautiful._

And she did too. Her hair was streaked with dark blue and haphazardly braided, many of the pieces had fallen out when she'd ran from the guards. She was wearing jeans and a loose fitting cotton blouse. My hands began to itch with the temptation to wrap my arms around her, to hold her close to me-

"Why must you antagonize Anubis?" Julius sighed, pulling away from his daughter and holding her at arm's length. "You know he will snap at you."

Sadie shrugged, unbothered by her father's words. "He won't hurt me. Now, his mangy mutts-"

Julius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I knew he found it infuriating that Sadie didn't fear anything. She would tease the guards to get them to chase her, play with Ammit, and most disturbingly, she was hell-bound to pet the jackals. In the month since she'd been gone, she would show up occasionally, and it always resulted in mayhem.

"They are going to bite you one day," Julius said. "And you torment Anubis just as much as his jackals. I know that you know he has a soft spot for you, but I'm worried you're going to get hurt-"

"Anubis wouldn't hurt me," Sadie repeated firmly. She twisted out of her father's arms and turned away from him. "Why can't I ever come over without the world trying to end or you lecturing me about leaving Anubis alone?"

I bristled. It was not Julius's job to decide whether or not I wanted to be left alone.

Julius must have realized he'd offended Sadie, because he dropped the subject. He put one arm around Sadie and squeezed her tight, kissing her forehead.

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he said. "I don't want you to think I don't want you here. Sometimes I just wish you wouldn't arrive in such a scene."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I just wanted to pet one, and then all of a sudden they were all chasing me."

"Its okay. Why don't you stay the night?" Julius offered, ignoring Sadie's irrational reasoning. "There are plenty of spare rooms."

Sadie's eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly.

Julius clapped his hands together, which summoned a ghost of a butler.

"Please prepare a room for my daughter, and let the cooks know we'll be having company at dinner," Julius said. The ghost bowed and then disappeared into the mist.

"Run along now, sweetheart," Julius said, patting Sadie's back. "Your mother is around here somewhere." Said grinned and ran off down one of the hallways. "And don't be petting the jackals," Julius called after her. She was already out of earshot.

"Stop eavesdropping Anubis, come out from there."

With a start, I dropped the invisibility spell. "How did you know?"

Julius shrugged and gestured for me to follow him. "Even when you're invisible, there's still a lingering darkness, Anubis."

We began to walk through the halls. I kept my eyes down, waiting to hear my punishment for not leaving when I was told.

"Anubis, I know you like Sadie," Julius said kindly.

My heart stopped and I refused to let myself look up. Relations between gods and mortals were forbidden, extremely forbidden. If anyone knew how much I liked her, she would be killed. The mere thought made my blood turn to ice.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, we will keep it between the two of us."

I couldn't help it, my head snapped up. " _What_?"

Julius chuckled, and to my shock, he patted my shoulder.

"I think it will pass," Julius explained. "You've been alone for a very, very long time. It's only natural that you would latch on to the person who ended that isolation."

I felt my face going hot and I looked away. It was much more than that. So much more than that.

Julius continued, oblivious to my thoughts. "Sadie is strong willed and very hard to handle. I think if you were to have a few conversations with her, you would discover that. All you need is to see how different you two are, then your feelings will pass."

I felt lightheaded. "What do you mean?"

"She's staying for dinner, maybe try talking to her?" Julius prompted.

"I'm not very good at talking," I muttered, staring at my boots.

Julius patted my back again, "with Sadie, I doubt you'll get a word in anyhow."

And with that, we parted and Julius left me, standing alone in a corridor.


	2. Chapter 2

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Dinner was painful to say the least. Sadie was more than happy to chatter away with her mother, but Osiris kept throwing me pointed glances, trying to force me to enter the conversation. I glowered at him, unwilling to speak. I _hated_ speaking, he _knew_ this.

Eventually Sadie's mother, Mistress Kane, noticed the tensions building between Julius and I. She gave me a soft, sympathetic look, as if she knew what was going on. I lowered me eyes, feeling guilt for my feeling for her daughter. I didn't deserve her sympathy.

Moments later Julius stifled a groan of pain and I witnessed the single most dangerous look ever given by a wife to her husband. My guilt vanished for a moment when I realized that that amazing woman had just kicked Master Julius very hard.

After that, the meal lapsed into silence. Master and Mistress Kane seemed to be having a silent argument, and Julius was losing. Sadie repeatedly tried to catch my eyes, but I ignored her, with much difficulty. Eventually, she became bored and summoned a small flame, twirling it around her fingers like dice. It was rather captivating to watch and I soon found myself staring at her hands unabashed, completely enthralled by her smoothe movements.

"Can't you summon fire too?" She prompted, noticing my staring.

"I suppose I could if I wanted to," I muttered. Fire was not my specialty. It appeared occasionally when I lost my temper, which was not often. Aside from today. Which was her fault. So it did not count.

"What exactly can you do?" She asked.

I blinked. Nobody had ever directly asked what my powers entailed. Julius and Ruby stopped their silent argument and turned their curious eyes towards me. Neither of them had asked, but I knew they had wondered. I could feel their stares, and didn't like it. I wasn't accustomed to people speaking to me, or asking questions. Especially not about myself.

My throat seemed to close up and I suddenly found myself unable to look up, even if I had wanted to.

"I must be going," I muttered, pushing away from the table.

"Dear, you haven't touched your food," Ruby said worriedly. I quickly looked up and found Mistress Kane studying me with motherly worry. Another wave of guilt went over me and I quickly forced myself to dissolve into shadows.

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"What's wrong with him?" I scowled. First he wouldn't look at me, then when I try to be nice and talk to him, he ups and melts into shadows. I didn't know whether to be angry or hurt. I decided on both.

"Dear," my mother said, pulling my attention back to the present. "Anubis has been here, alone, rotting away for a very long time. He's not very accustom to holding a conversation."

"Oh."

"It's not just you," my father assured me. "He rarely speaks to anyone. He has one friend, someone named Nico, that occasionally comes through and they try to kill each other. Other than that, I have never seen him comfortable enough to speak freely with anyone."

Though I was angry, I had to admit that was a tad sad. To be abandoned and have your only friend try to kill you and not even be able to hold a conversation. Sympathy welled in my heart, but I tried not to let it show. The last thing I wanted was another lecture on my non existent relationship with Anubis and how I didn't need to be pitying him.

My stomach churned unpleasantly at the thought of what I would have done in his place. I would have lost my mind.

"I think I'm done," I pushed away from the table.

"Honey, you didn't eat either," my mother fretted.

"I'm not hungry," I admitted. Both my mum and dad frowned but neither agrued. They exchanged glanced and dad eventually nodded.

"Okay sweetheart. If you get hungry, you can ask the guard outside of your room and he'll bring you food. _Do not_ wander outside of your room," Dad gave me a stern look. "Do not go exploring, or wandering the halls. Do not antagonize your guard. Don't bother the servants-"

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. You can sleep. You look exhausted." Dad motioned for a guard to come forward. Like most the other guards, he was a demon. His lower half appeared human, but his head was a ram, with massive curling horns. It was a wonder he could walk without toppling over.

"Sadie, this is Goatman," Dad gestured to the demon.

"How-err-original?"

Goatman snorted, his beady yellow eyes focussing on me. I found the effect quite unsettling. His eyes were on the side of his head, so he had to turn sideways to look at me properly. He snorted, seemingly unimpressed by my amazingness.

Dad, unaware, continued talking, "Please lead my daughter to her room. Discourage her from wandering unattended-"

"What's he going to do?" I asked nervously. "Stab me?"

Dad chuckled, "no but you shouldn't be wandering alone. He will probably follow you."

I grimaced, "lovely."

The room I was led to was nice, not quite as posh as my room in Brooklyn House, but I wasn't complaining. My dad was right, I was exhausted. I honestly couldn't care less if it was a dingey closet or a master suite, as long as I could sleep. Teaching magic every day, all day, wore me down like nothing else. As much as I wanted to sleep though, I also wanted to roam the halls, which was going to be a tad hindered with a massive ram-headed guard following me. How am I expected to be sneaky if that hulking bloke is on my heels?

I stood up. There was no point in exploring the temple before I explored my own room.

It was rather hard to see though. The walls seemed to be made out of black glass, which darkened the room quite a lot. There was one window, and it was rather large, spanning all of the wall, but no light was coming through. It seemed to be nighttime here, though when there was no sun or moon, I didn't know how night or day would be possible. A large bed had been made with black bedding,which was pushed to the wall. At the front, there was a large, unused fireplace. All in all, it was quite nice, but the marble floor and glass walls provided no warmth. The covers were ice cold too. I could feel the chill leaching through my boots and clothing.

"Lovely," I muttered. "I can freeze to death."

Tentatively, I looked around for anything to light the fireplace. I had matches in the Duat, and I could always summon fire, but there didn't appear to be any wood to burn it with, so it probably wouldn't last. It appear that the temple wasn't gas powered either, as I couldn't find a turning key.

"Fab," I grumbled. My regret at staying the night was mounting.

With a sigh I went to the door and poked my head out. On one side of the door was Goatman, standing guard with a spear, on the other side was a sleek black jackal. Both of their gazes fixed on me, waiting for an order.

"I-um-," I trailed off. It felt odd to be talking to two guards that were mostly animal, and that were waiting for me to order them around. "Its very cold. Do you know where any wood for the fireplace might be?"

Goatman's ears flicked and he nodded. The jackal bounded off down the hallway. I didn't know how the jackal planned to carry firewood, but I didn't figure Goatman was talkative enough to tell me.

I went back in and sat down on the bed. It was very firm, almost like sitting on concrete. There was almost no chance of me sleeping. With it being this cold and a bed made of concrete, I was never going to sleep.

"H-hello?"

I looked up. In my doorway (though I hadn't heard the door open) was a tall, slim girl. She looked like she was about my age, and dressed in an old fashioned maid uniform. Though she was incredibly scrawny, she cradled several logs in her arms. Her fine, rather thin blonde hair was coming out of her bonnet, obscuring her large, fearful, eyes. I couldn't be sure but it seemed like she was having trouble meeting my gaze.

"Who are you?"

My voice must've come out too sharp, because she flinched. "I'm W-w-willow," she stammered.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Her shoulders shook slightly. "Mimi told me to bring you firewood."

"That was quick-wait. The jackal's name is Mimi?"

Willow nodded earnestly and set to putting the wood in the fireplace, looking everywhere but my face. "Oh yes, all the jackals have names. They're all in an awful mood today though, I hear Anubis was furious that they nearly bit Osiris's daughter. They haven't had dinner at all so they're terribly upset. Though so is Anubis, and they feed off his emotions. Its a wonder he didn't kill all of them, you know there's a rumor that he loves her. Oh I'm beginning to ramble, I'm terribly sorry." My heart seemed to skip a beat when i heard of the rumors flying around. Did he love me? Surely he couldn't? We'd only met twice-

"Are you upset with me?" Willow's eyes had turned frightened and she twisted her apron between her hands, wringing it out nervously.

"Oh no, not at all. I rather like your voice, it's very pleasant."

Willows face flushed and she fixed her gaze on her shoes. "Thank you. I'm not used to talking to people, especially not guests, so when I do it tends to come out in a jumble."

I nodded. Liz and Emma had the same tendency.

Willow glanced regretfully at the door. "I guess I should be going, unless you need something else."

Though she was meek, she seemed sweet, and I was dreadfully bored.

"Why don't you stay?" I offered. "Unless you have chores and stuff to do-"

"Oh no," she said quickly. "I'm supposed to be in the kitchen, but if I'm aiding a guest, then I can stay here."

"You don't like the kitchens?" I guessed.

She shook her head animatedly. "Oh no, its so hot in there, and the butlers are mean and the demons push you around because they think they can-o _mygosh I'm so sorry_ I should _not_ be telling you my problem." She squeaked, as if she had just realized she was talking to me instead of another maid. A look of horror crossed her eyes and they filled with tears.

I quickly swung off the bed and wrapped my arm around her. "Please don't cry, what's the matter?"

"I'm an awful maid," she moaned. "I'm not supposed to talk unless talked to, or look up. I only finished my training a few nights ago! They're gonna put me back on washing duty if they hear of this." And with that, she dissolved into tears.

Her tears must have been loud enough to be heard from the outside because Goatman assumed they were mine and promptly barged in, spear raised, as if Willow could've possibly made me cry. Willow screamed in fear and leapt behind me, leaving Goatman's spear raised at my nose.

After having been tried to be killed many a time, by many demons, I wasn't properly thinking when I was eye level with a demon's weapon. My eyesight turned red and a flash of blue light hit Goatman's spear, incinerating it to nothing but dust.

Behind me, Willow squeaked in shock and Goatman quickly fell to his knees, hands clasped together.

"I'm sorry Princess Kane, I meant no harm to you."

I didn't know what I expected from Goatman's voice, but it was a gravely sound, like boots on rocks. It wasn't necessarily coming from his mouth either, more like it was vibrating out of his body. The effect was a tad off putting, though not unpleasant.

"I know you didn't mean to." I ran my fingers through my hair and looked at the pile of dust that had been his spear. I hadn't meant to destroy it. I bent down in front of the Guard, with the pile of ashes between us. He didn't look up, but stiffened, as if waiting for me to incinerate him to.

I scooped up the ashes and tried to remember what the spear had looked like. Closing my eyes, I focussed the image in my mind, I willed the dust to return to it's original form. Behind me, Willow gasped softly.

"Well that's not the original, but I suppose it will work."

"It's beautiful," Willow breathed.

It wasn't the original, but it was nice. It had been a regular black wooden staff with a pointed tip. Now it was seemed to be made of inky black glass. The point at the top looked like it could cut through bone as easily as if it were butter.

"Sorry, Goatman, I didn't mean to change the materials," I handed him back the staff. I hoped there wasn't some sort of regulation on what the guard's weapons had to be made of. I would hate to have to explain this fiasco.

"It is an honor, Princess," the guard said, taking the spear from me. He didn't get up and I realized that he was waiting for me to get up first.

I went back to the bed. Goatman slinked out of the room, rumbling apologies for the mistake. Willow looked like she was trying to become one with my wall.

"Willow?"

Her eyes were as big as saucers and she was gaping at me.

"Please pick you jaw up off the floor, someone might trod on it-"

" _You're_ Osiris's daughter?!"

I crossed my arms and shifted uncomfortably, "yes, I suppose I am-"

" _You're_ the princess?"

"Well not really-"

"You're the one Anubis has been fawning over-"

"Now I really wouldn't know about that-"

"I had no idea!"

"I can tell," I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "Honestly, who did you t _hink_ I was?"

"Nobles and court officials have relatives visit all the time. I just thought you were some noble's daughter. I didn't know you were the princess-"

"What is with all the princess rubbish?!" I threw my hands up. Was nobody going to explain why all these blokes kept calling me that?

Willow resumed her timid look, having been started by my tone. She dropped her eyes but they were still wide with shock. "Well, you're Osiris's host's daughter. And since this host is his Eye, Master Julius has become a permanent fixture. When a god that rules over a kingdom has a host, that host becomes the king. Therefore his children are treated as...well you know.."

"Honorary royalty?" I finished. "Why did nobody tell me about this before?"

"Master Julius has been dreadfully busy. It probably slipped his mind."

I flopped down on the bed. "Would have been nice to know."

There was a pause and the silence.

"Princess-"

"Sadie."

"Sadie?"

"Yes?"

"You're magic is beautiful," Willow said softly.

I rolled on my side. If only she knew the trouble that I was in because of it.

 **Sorry guys i know you were expecting Anubis, but you needed the information here. Don't worry. THERES A LOT OF SANUBIS COMING UP. T** **he next chapter is all Sanubis, so please stick with it!**


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